"NEW YORK, October 25, 1999 - AltaVista Company, a majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc. (Nasdaq: CMGI), today unveiled a dramatic new network of services designed to champion the power of the Internet as the interactive medium for the pursuit of knowledge. AltaVista now combines three industry-leading Internet services into its network to put more power within the grasp of users than ever before. Making its debut are: AltaVista Live!, the Internet's first real time personal megaportal; New AltaVista Search, the Web's most powerful and comprehensive guide to the web; and the New AltaVista Shopping.com, a completely unbiased online buying guide designed to help users shop smarter."

I always like AltaVista as a tool, because of its power and depth. Compaq, who bought out Digital, recently spun off AltaVista to CMGI. Asking this question strictly from a marketing perspective, Is this latest press release an example of a web site selling out quality for cash? Will it pay off in the log run?